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Written by Tom Wall
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Tuesday, 31 August 2010 06:25 |
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Every year, firefighters across the country raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association with the Fill the Boot campaign. At busy intersections throughout Green Bay this week, off-duty firefighters with a rubber boot in their hands take turns collecting cash from drivers as they wait at red lights. Although many motorists only donate a dollar or some spare change found around their cup holders, the total amount Wisconsin firefighters raised during the 2009 Fill the Boot event topped $600,000.
A lot of us tend to think that little efforts won’t be noticed and don’t make a difference. But when you think about how $600,000 can be raised in a three-day, state-wide fundraiser by volunteers (brave and well-respected volunteers, no less), it’s fair to say that even the smallest efforts add up.
And it’s precisely in the words ‘add up’ that makes this MDA charity drive so powerful. It’s not a one-shot, we’ll “give it the ol’ college try” that we sometimes find ourselves doing. No, it requires focused energy toward one goal, spread across a team of like-minded people all over the country that ‘add up’ to a successful fund raising event. It’s a few coins from one motorist and a couple dollars from another that ‘add up’ to create an unbelievable number in the end.
And the same can be said about how we accomplish our goals, both personal and professional. The little things you focus on today, tomorrow, and every day after that eventually do add up. Eating too much, continuing to learn new things, ignoring wasteful spending, trying to find the positive in people first, smoking and chewing, exercising regularly... over time, the things you do frequently and consistently become your reality. And yes, that might sound a bit cliché.
But think about how your career path has led you to where you are today. What are the daily actions and habits that have helped you arrive at this place in your career and life right now? How has your company grown and improved
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Written by Tom Wall
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Tuesday, 24 August 2010 06:55 |
Remember a couple months ago when you were able to squeeze out a little extra sunlight every night? Unfortunately the days have been getting shorter and shorter for the past couple of months and will continue to do so until the end of the year. And as every night comes and goes, we’ll hardly notice that today’s sunset arrived about a minute earlier than last night’s. But then sometime in December, it hits us... it’s 5:00 and it’s already dark out!
Just like your kids are growing up and your clothes are starting to fit a little tighter, life changes and leaves you wondering how everything went by so fast. But in reality, life didn’t go by quickly at all. Over the years, everything changed gradually, one day at a time. And yes, you probably already knew that. After all, you were there; growing and adapting to those changes as they transformed your life.
So how have you adjusted to the gradual changes that have affected and shaped your business and career? Although some events have immediate and sometimes tragic effects on your professional life, most of your “work evolution” happens slowly over time.
Thirty years ago, if someone would have told you that Montgomery Ward’s would close nearly all their stores and eventually re-open online as wards.com, would you have believed them? And today, would you believe someone’s prediction that another company will come along and unseat Wal-Mart’s reign of retail? That’s hard to fathom, right? But, when you recall your old history lessons and remember the saying “the sun never sets on the British empire”, hopefully you’re reminded that nothing is “too big to fail.”
So what happens to companies that eventually die off? Of course, every company’s story is going to be somewhat different. But just like every living thing must eventually die, all companies, including our own, will eventually meet that same fate. No, there’s no need to get upset or worry about when that might happen. The issue that should concern you though is what you’re doing today to adapt and adjust in order to prolong the inevitable.
So... how closely are you observing the details within your dairy and the world around you? Are you paying attention to what your customers, your employees, your consultants, your neighbors, your vendors, your competitors, and your
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Written by Tom Wall
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Tuesday, 17 August 2010 06:00 |
What is potential worth?
When you think about potential, it’s amazing how valuable we seem to believe it is. For example, think about many of the purchases and investments you’ve made. It’s easy to calculate how much an investment has returned in the past and how much it’s currently yielding in the present. But one of the real reasons you choose to take on the risk of a purchase or an investment is due to the potential gains or savings it will deliver in the future. I guess technically we call that a ‘forecast’, but essentially we’re talking about potential.
And in dairy production, almost everything boils down to potential. Whether you’re making decisions on contracting milk, expansion, or sire selection, you base many of these choices on what you believe will deliver the most potential. There are no guarantees, just potential that needs to be realized through good decisions, hard work, and persistence.
Now, I’d imagine you think about the potential of your cattle and the market every day, but how much have you thought about the potential of your people lately? When you hired each person on your team, did you make these hiring decisions based on the individual’s potential for delivering great performance? Or did you just hire whoever was available and hope that you wouldn’t have to fire them and find someone new? When you think about these people you’ve entrusted to help run your family’s business, ask yourself, “Do your managers and workers have the potential that’s needed to succeed in these challenging times?”
And now the hard part... what about you? What kind of potential do you have for leading and managing your team? Do you “have what it takes” to build and develop your team to make your dairy run more effectively and efficiently? But more importantly, are you actively doing that every day? If you can say ‘yes’ to that last question, nice work. And if you answered ‘no’, then why not?!?!
Here’s an idea for a discussion at the next meeting with your management team. Compare your company’s potential with its reality. Address performance details (key statistics, time management, cleanliness, waste, communication, sense of urgency, etc.) for each department and department head at your dairy... parlor, herd, calves, maintenance, and so on. As a group, discuss and give each area of the dairy and its respective manager a grade for the potential and the
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Written by Tom Wall
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Tuesday, 10 August 2010 06:30 |
Chances are that if you take the time to read this, you’ve been entrusted with the responsibility of managing and leading a team. Whether these people refer to you as coach, boss, doctor, professor, or parent, your team looks to you for guidance. No, you don’t actually need to work on a football field to be a coach... all you need is a team.
So how can you embrace your role as a coach and excel at developing those you lead? Here’s a list of some of the roles and responsibilities you have as a leader in your organization.
As a coach, you’re responsible for...
- Organizing - creating systems and putting the necessary tools and equipment in your team’s hands
- Strategizing - planning and creating processes and protocols that help your team succeed
- Executing - implementing your strategy and best practices consistently
- Monitoring - making sure your plans and protocols are followed while also looking for what works and what doesn’t
- Adapting - changing when necessary... hopefully before it’s necessary
- Delegating - seeking help from others on your team; leveraging the skills, expertise, and time of your teammates
- Communicating - keeping your team informed of individual and overall performance... but mainly, taking the complicated and making it simple
- Motivating - keeping people engaged and energized so they continue to excel
- Teaching - showing and explaining how things work so everyone is prepared to make good decisions and
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Written by Tom Wall
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Tuesday, 03 August 2010 06:05 |
Although the first regular season game is still over a month away, the 2010 NFL season officially kicked off this past weekend when (almost) all of the league’s players reported to training camp. And as much as I love watching the games, I’d have to say that it’s the details of execution, discipline, and the element of teamwork that brings everything together on the field that makes the game of football special.
So what would an NFL training camp look like if you were the head coach? Essentially, apply your style of leadership and management of running your dairy to running an NFL training camp. Be honest... what would your football team be like?
Would you actually be at camp, coaching and working with your players and assistants for the majority of the day? Or, if you’re too busy attending to other important matters like making sure the stadium renovation was on schedule, cutting the grass on the game field, or attending League meetings; could you at least depend on a few top-notch assistants who are capable of leading a winning program in your absence?
And when you are at practice, what would you be busy doing? Would you spend most of your coaching time taking turns with the players, actually doing their drills... taking handoffs, kicking field goals, blocking on the sleds, and covering receivers? Or would you be observing and coaching your players to perform their positions better, complimenting them when they made good plays and re-running them when they faltered?
Speaking of plays, would you actually have an official team playbook for each position or would you just have your players do what they think would work well? And what if your receivers keep running routes that are different from what your quarterback is throwing, would you address the constant interceptions or simply hope that they’ll eventually fix the problem on their own?
And what about discipline? Keep in mind, much of your team consists of young, testosterone-driven men who have a tendency of being selfish and stubborn. If you catch them not participating in their position-specific drills, showing up late, screwing around, or fighting; do you have rules and consequences that everyone can expect you to apply? And when it comes to teamwork, do you have a finger on the pulse of your team’s chemistry? More importantly, would you
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the link is a business management column written by Tom Wall, president of Dairy Interactive, LLC and Language Links, LLC for owners and managers within the dairy industry. Tom’s Wall is your link to these free weekly reflections on employee management, leadership and life.
